Without rain the grass doesn’t grow, and without it the sheep won’t make it through the winter
Veranada is a film highlighting a remote community in the mountains of Argentina. With the summer season coming to an end, the local shepherds have to relocate their flock of sheep, looking for water.
Malargüe, a city in the Argentinian state of Mendoza, is the home of Don Arturo, a lifelong shepherd. His lifestyle and that of a few other gauchos — the Argentinian version of the American cowboy — is threatened by the effects of climate change.
The 2020 rainfall season in the Andes mountains, which separate Argentina and Chile, marked the fifth consecutive year of below-average precipitations. Some hoped that El Niño would bring more wet days, but unfortunately, a dry spell looms ahead.
Without water, the various rivers that slide through the chain of mountains and valleys cannot supply all the communities and ranches.
At the end of the Veranada, the summer season for those who herd animals in the mountains, Don Arturo packed his limited belongings onto his horse and took his sheep someplace else, hoping to find a more suitable location to settle with the animals.
“I didn’t know going there that they were struggling with climate change, I realized very soon that they were. And it was a very big concern to them. Their way of life, as they see it, it’s kind of threatened,” explained producer and director of Veranada, Dominique Chaumont, after the screening of the film at the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM).
Living a life that is as old as the country’s founding days, these gaucho communities have no other method of communication than a radio that is always turned on, transmitting messages between citizens from towns away.
From warnings of storms to seeking employment, to wishing a happy eightieth birthday to a father living in another town, the radio is the only thing that keeps the community connected with the outside world.
In the film, the simple tasks completed by the gauchos on a daily basis are shown through a series of long, patient still shots — some even being several minutes long. The narrative creates an immersive experience of this centuries-old way of living.
Filming in a town that exists outside of modernity brought a set of constraints to the three-people team that consisted of Chaumont’s project.
While working without electricity, living in a tent and navigating the mountains on horseback, the producer and her two companions had to pack wisely and lightly — something that the film’s protagonist does every day.
With only two cameras and two solar panels, they had to turn the cameras on only at specific times to ensure the best use of the battery.
In total, about seven and a half hours of footage were gathered in a span of three weeks, while the filmmakers lived alongside the gauchos, earning their trust.
Chaumont, a native of Mendoza, 300 kilometres away from Malargüe, discovered a way of life that most in her native country don’t even know about. She also discovered what it’s like to live on the brink of extinction.
“That was their concern, and that was their story. And I wanted to tell their story,” she said.
The police watchdog, Quebec’s Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), has opened an investigation into a police chase in the city that resulted in a 30-year-old man being seriously injured on Saturday night, reported the CBC. A police officer was approaching a vehicle, which allegedly struck another car, when the suspected driver fled and collided with two other vehicles before crashing into a tree. The BEI did not reveal which of the three collisions the injured man was involved in.
A poll byLe Journal de Montréal found that Mayor Valérie Plante’s approval rate has decreased in the last year. According to the poll, nearly half of Montrealers want a new mayor, especially due to her tax increase.
The Longueuil terminus station was closed Friday afternoon after a suspicious package was spotted, according to the Montreal Gazette. Longueuil police established a security perimeter around the station, and Sûreté du Québec explosive technicians determined it was harmless.
The Longueuil agglomeration will dump 162 litres of raw sewage into the Saint Lawrence River over eight days in mid-November, according toLa Presse. This spill will allow the city to repair a water entry pipe that connects to a water treatment plant. Residents in the area are asked to limit their water consumption on these days.
Nation in Brief
British Columbia will now recognize an “X” gender on driver’s licenses, identity cards, birth certificates and BC Services Cards, according to Global News. Those who are born in British Columbia can switch their gender marker to an X by sending the Vital Statistics Agency a Change of Gender Designation Application form with a confirmation form from a physician or psychologist. Once approved, the agency will issue a new birth certificate, which the person will be able to use to request a change on other identification cards.
Catherine Adams from Alberta was sentenced to 90 days in prison on Nov. 2 for abusing her animals, according to the Calgary Sun. Adams is a repeat animal abuser.
New distracted driving penalties came into effect in Manitoba on Nov. 1, meaning drivers caught holding a phone at the wheel can face a $672 fine compared to the previous $203 fine, according to CTV. A second offence, within 10 years of the first, will result in a seven-day suspension of the driver’s license, which the driver will have to immediately surrender. The use of smart watches will result in the same penalties.
Rainy and dark weather conditions in Toronto on Thursday night likely played a role in 16 people getting struck by cars, according to CTV. A 92-year-old woman was injured and taken to the hospital in life-threatening condition. None of the incidents after dark were fatal, although one woman was killed while taking a taxi earlier that day.
World in Brief
A new dinosaur species was discovered by Spanish and Argentinian paleontologists in central Argentina, according to The Guardian. The herbivore species, which lived 110 million years ago, was named Lavocatisaurus agrioensis. Fossils of almost all the bones from three separate dinosaurs were found. One was a 39-feet-long adult and the others appear to be two younger dinosaurs, each about 21-feet-long.
On Wednesday, Peru set a new daily record of 6,708 Venezuelans entering the country, according to Bloomberg. A pull factor for Venezuelans in the past month was the Oct. 31deadline to apply for a work permit. After Colombia, Peru receives the most Venezuelan immigrants, according to the same source. The permit that 250,000 people applied for over the past month would allow them to work legally in Peru, as well as access health services. About 125,000 permits have already been issued since the creation of the permit in January.
The tabled Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, a United Nations migration pact that would make migration safer and more orderly, won’t be signed by Austria, according toThe Independent. Austria’s right-wing government, which ran on an anti-immigration platform, is following in the footsteps of the United States and Hungary.
Esambe Hanakita Kojima, a tiny island off the coast of Hokkaido in Japan, disappeared on Sunday, according to The Japan Times. The island, which the Japan Coast Guard registered in 1987, used to be visible from Hokkaido and was 4.6 feet above sea level.
At least 15 people are dead and 44 injured after a truck lost control at a toll station and collided with a line of cars in Lanzhou in North-West China on Saturday, according to the BBC. The truck driver told authorities his brakes did not work and an investigation has been opened.
Concordia student writes letter to archbishop who condemns the use of condoms
Concordia student Jorge Briceno, an activist fighting against HIV/AIDS, promotes safe sex as a means to prevent infection. However, Briceno is frustrated with the public condemning of condoms by religious figures, which he sees as a great risk factor to infection.
Recently Briceno, who studies sociology and human relations, was angered by the Catholic Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata, Argentina—who publicly condemned the use of condoms. Aguer published his opinions in a column, titled “La Fornicación,” in the La Plata daily newspaper, El Día. In his article, Aguer characterized casual sex as animal-like, stating fornication as a sign of dehumanization. He condemned the use of condoms, and made particular references to their use by athletes at the 2016 Olympic games.
Sociology and human relations student Jorge Briceno captured in Concordia’s greenhouse. Photo by Savanna Craig.
The Guardian estimated a use of 42 condoms per athlete during the Rio Olympics. Briceno said Arguer was furious that the Brazilian government was handing out condoms to athletes upon their arrival in Rio, claiming it was promoting promiscuity. Briceno added that Aguer said using condoms is a promiscuous act.
Briceno said Aguer’s condemnation of condoms is very dangerous and can compromise the safety of anyone who follows the archbishop’s words. As a sociologist, Briceno believes a lot of people end up following the words of those of who they look up to—whether it’s a religious figure or a politician.
Part-time Concordia faculty member and religion professor Steven Lapidus from the Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies said religious figures have a direct influence on their followers, and they can influence societies through the government and educational systems.
He said abstinence has proven not to work, those in abstinence programs and pledges may still have sex, but are not learning the proper education to reduce sexually transmitted infections. “Simply banishing condoms is never proven to be helpful or successful in the abstinence program,” said Lapidus. “They’re advocating something that is not working from a medical standpoint—clearly it’s dangerous.”
Briceno said, for him, Aguer’s column is a matter of life and death. “I’ve had enough of religious leaders who impose on others their ways of thinking,” said Briceno. This motivated him to write a letter to Aguer, opposing and discussing the flaws in “La Fornication.” He said people who have the privilege to address the crowds do not measure the amount of damage that can be done.
Concordia religion professor Alexander Nachaj said the archbishop’s comments towards condemning condoms are not what he would call radical, as he is towing the party line of where the Catholic Church stands on reproductive rights and sexual health—which Nachaj said is outdated and not modern at all.
Nachaj drew on the example in recent Catholic history of the second vatican council, which was a major council in the 1970s where they tried to modernize the church. “They essentially had this great opportunity to embrace contraceptives and put more emphasis on women’s health, even HIV—but the way the council unfolded, they had all these modern ideas but reproductive rights and sexual safety just fell to the wayside.”
He although added not a lot of bishops and archbishops may comment as Aguer has, this is the official stance of the Catholic Church. “Just as a human standpoint I think it’s a major issue to be discouraging the use of contraceptives” he said.
“Until the Pope himself changes things, no Catholic [figure] is officially going to be [promoting contraceptives],” he said, adding that many Catholics use contraception regardless of the Church’s stance. However, he said due to it being the official stance this is why we see practices such as condemning the use and distribution of condoms. “It most likely does lead to the spread of HIV, unwanted pregnancies and other complications.”
Briceno believes condoms are one of the great barriers against infection. According to Aidsmap, if condoms are used 100 per cent of the time, with the typical rates of slippage and breakage taken into account, condoms provide protection against HIV/AIDS up to 80 to 85 per cent of the time.
Instances where religious figures preach against homosexuality and condemn the use of birth control, is not limited to South America—it can be seen in our own community.
On Oct. 7, a religious activist was preaching anti-gayness, anti-abortion and anti-sex statements on Concordia’s Sir George Williams campus. He was accompanied by two others who were holding signs depicting acts that will send people to hell, such as homosexuality and premarital sex.
Activist Jaggi Singh (photographed on the right) describes he was protesting against to bigotry of this preachers speech, however not against Christians. Photo by Savanna Craig.
While the preacher chanted about actions he deemed unholy into a microphone, a crowd of Concordia students gathered around him. A few students obtained a megaphone and chanted back “don’t hate, masturbate,” to protest the religious activist’s stance against masturbation.
A crowd of approximately 35 students emerged to watch some Concordia students and the religious activists on campus clashing with one another, as students were not in protest of their religion, but against preaching discrimination toward sexual freedom and homophobia. Along with continuous chanting, one student began handing out condoms to promote safe sexual freedom. After just over an hour, the protest diffused and the religious activists left campus.
“Morals are not defined, morals are biased, morals are not inclusive,” said Briceno. “Therefore, when arguments emerge from religious standpoints, there is conflict and not everyone feels welcome.” He said radical religious beliefs undermine the ability for followers to think for themselves.
Briceno said education is essential for knowing how to reduce risk of HIV/AIDS. He drew on two organizations in Montreal that inform people about sexual practices, being REZO-Santé and for Ready for Action. You can visit both of their websites online and find more information regarding safe sex and contact information for more help.
If you want to read Briceno’s letter to Archbishop Aguer—click here.
